Amen!

Luke 12:13-14 says, “But the angel reassured him, saying, “Don’t be afraid, Zechariah! God is showing grace to you. For I have come to tell you that your prayer for a child has been answered. Your wife, Elizabeth, will bear you a son and you are to name him John. His birth will bring you much joy and gladness. Many will rejoice because of him.”

The Greek word translated as “prayer” in that verse can actually be translated to say, “the prayer you don’t even pray anymore”. I find that fascinating. That Zechariah, a priest, and his wife had long since given up hope and stopped praying for a child but God, at the right time came to bless them with a child who would become known as John the Baptist. God remembered their prayer. Just because we have lost hope does not mean God has forgotten. If you wait and continue to serve Him in the wait, the promise will come.

See, Zechariah and Elizabeth had no way of knowing that their son would be thee voice in the desert who was prophesied by the prophet Isaiah who would prepare the way for the Messiah but God knew. So, the timing of his birth was specific. They had to wait on God’s timing. They had prayed for a child until they got to a place where they stopped praying. But God did not forget their prayers. He was just waiting on the right time to give them what they had asked for. 

They prayed for a child but God gave them a son who would be Jesus’ cousin and also the one who was set apart by God to be the voice in the wilderness getting people ready for the coming Messiah. God always exceeds our expectations if we wait on Him.  

There was a set time for Jesus to be born so there had to be a set time for His cousin John to be born. Sometimes we get impatient with God. Abraham and Sarah most certainly did. They decided to do their own thing and help God out and they had Ishmael as a result. Ishmael was not a blessing to them and his birth caused drama in the house to a point that Abraham had to send him and his mother away. We have to trust God’s timing. There is grace and peace when things happen in God’s time. Ecclesiastes 2:1 says it this way, “For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven.” The right thing in the right season will be a blessing. Don’t run ahead of God.

The other side of God’s timing is when we feel unqualified for what we are being asked to do when God asks us to do it. Mary the mother of Jesus probably felt this way. After all, who in the world is qualified to be the mother of God? However, when God asks us to do something, we have to trust not only His timing but also that He is God enough to give us what we need to do what He is asking us to do. 

We are coming to the end of the year, in the new year there may be some things that God will ask us to do. Let us be bold and courageous. Let us trust His timing and His heart towards us and let us say as Mary did in Luke 1:38, “…Let it be to me according to your word.” In the Greek, the word “Amen” means so be it or may it be fulfilled. So what Mary essentially said to the angel was, “Amen.”

2 Corinthians 1:20 puts it this way, “For all of God’s promises find their “yes” of fulfillment in him. And as his “yes” and our “amen” ascend to God, we bring him glory!” God gives us the yes, the permission, the go ahead, the blue print of the plan. It is up to us to respond in faith and say, “Amen.” When we come in agreement with God, heavens plans are released on earth and we begin to see God doing amazing things for us, through us and to us. 

We have an awesome God! Don’t hold back your Amen when it is time. Trust Him and He will be your guide into the promised land.

Love and blessings,

Melissa Tsingano